Fall 2020 Class News

The year 2020 brings the 50th reunion of the Class of 1970. Class members gathered memories and updates to share with all alumni (embedded are snapshots from a Class of 1970 video tribute):

Sandra Hammer Bryan continues to work at University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center in the PACU. Sandie is now the oldest nurse in her department, a dubious honor! Previously, she worked in the shock trauma unit and cancer center ICU at Maryland for many years. She and her husband live in Freeland, MD; they have two children and seven grandchildren. Sandie enjoys camping, hiking, gardening, and being a National Park Service and local library volunteer. She resists retirement as she does not want to lose the satisfaction that comes with being a nurse.

Gayle Corbett Chaney retired in 2016 after 25 years as a staff nurse in outpatient surgery. She and her husband, David, live in Oregon. Gayle has three adult children, two of whom have chosen nursing as a career. Gayle received a BSN in 1984 from CSULA. While living in California, she worked as a docent at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, a volunteer job she really loved. Now Gayle enjoys ballroom dancing, biking, travel, and studying Spanish.

Karen Combs lives in Grand Junction, CO with her spouse, Lynn. She earned a BS and MS from Northern Illinois University and an MBA from Washington University. After working in community nursing, as well as a short stint in banking and advertising, she retired after 23 years with Epic, a health care software company. Her most notable sale was to Johns Hopkins! Traveling internationally was a passion until this year; she and Lynn are now focused on travel in the West. She is honored to have been asked to serve on the Hopkins Nursing Advisory Board.

Eileen Timms Doll lives with her husband and nine (yes, 9!) cats in Maryland. She completed her BS in 1994. Eileen worked at JHH until 1979, then went into long-term care, ending her career in 2010 as a consultant to nursing homes and SNFs. She specialized in clinical reimbursement and informatics. Her current interests include felines and wildlife conservation.

Patricia (Trish) Dorgan had a varied career with certifications as an EMT, childbirth educator, massage therapist, and Reiki practitioner. She retired in 2015 after 15 years as a surveyor for LTC facilities. She lives in New Market, MD within miles of her two sons and two granddaughters; her daughter lives in Colorado. She shares her house with two rescue dogs and loves doing anything with her granddaughters.

Geraldine Hirsch Fitzgerald lives in Bethany Beach, DE but also enjoys time in Washington, DC and Florida. Geri lost her husband Jim in 2018 to cancer; she has two children and two grandchildren who “keep me from aging too fast.” She earned a BSN from the University of Pennsylvania and an MSN/PNP from Catholic University. In 2001, she became a board-certified lactation consultant. Her consulting led her to international work as a UN advocate for maternal-infant health; she participated in the formation of the international Breast Feeding Collective, which includes UNICEF, WHO, the Gates Foundation, and others. She enjoys pickle ball and tai chi, playing the Irish drum, volunteering for Catholic charities, traveling, and grandchildren.

Linda Cade Haber and her husband, Larry, are retired, living in Fort Wayne, IN. After Johns Hopkins, Linda worked primarily in psychiatric/mental health nursing, ending her career within the VA system as a clinical specialist. She continued her education at Duke (BSN), University of North Carolina (MSN), and Indiana University (PhD). She enjoys reading, music, and making greeting cards for charities.

Jane Riegel Haberkorn and her husband, Tom, live near Chicago in Burr Ridge, IL. They have four children and 10 grandchildren. Jane worked in a variety of nursing positions and areas (psych, ICU, public health, and OB). She retired from her position as an OB health educator in 2019; she was certified as a lactation consultant and a Lamaze educator. Since she cannot currently travel, she has been baking bread, taking French lessons, visiting the Art Institute, and spending time with her children.

Christine Fowler James concluded her nursing career as an outpatient director at Penn State Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA, not far from where she lives in Mechanicsburg with her husband, Geoff. Previously, she worked in inpatient surgical areas in several different hospitals and locations. She has five children and nine grandchildren. She enjoys volunteering with the local PBS radio and television station and serves on the boards of two local women’s recovery houses. Grandchildren fill in the time too!

Mary Frances (Fran) Keen returned to her hometown of Lancaster, PA in 1999 to accept a job at Villanova University, following years in Miami, FL. After deciding to teach nursing, she continued her education at University of Maryland and Catholic University. Fran loved teaching med-surg and developing international experiences for students. Pre-pandemic, she enjoyed traveling and doing global builds with Habitat for Humanity. She shares her space with a house rabbit; her brothers and nephews live nearby.

Pat Magill Krupa lives in Dunedin, FL with her husband, Gary, having just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Her three children and five grandchildren also call Florida home. After school, Pat became an ANP with the JHH program headed by Martha Hill. With a BS in health care administration, she became involved with clinical information systems. She ended her career at Microsoft as an account executive for the federal government including NIH, FDA, DOD, and the VA. She has “replaced myself in the nursing workforce by growing one of my own.” Her youngest daughter is completing her MSN!

Zita Kwartek started her post-Hopkins career with the Air Force, spending two years in Texas and Japan. Subsequently, she received a BS in health care administration, a BS in computer science, and an MBA. She also has a diploma as an FNP and physician’s assistant. Zita has had multiple and varied positions in nursing over the years, and now is working as a substitute teacher in the public school system. She resides in Rapid City, SD with her feline and canine companions. She is the owner and manager of an organic farm.

Terry Lavell is living in Auburn, CA. She spent 40 years doing patient care, 30 of them in emergency departments. During her final eight years in nursing, she was charge nurse at Kaiser Urgent Care in Hollywood, CA. She also served in the Army Reserves for eight years and attained the rank of captain. Prior to COVID-19, she was doing a lot of traveling and has been to 47 states and Europe. She volunteers with the American Cancer Society and a thrift store; she loves horseback riding in her spare time.

Martha (Martie) Vanaman Livingston earned an MPH from the University of Pittsburgh and worked in public health for 44 years, retiring in August 2020. Martie retired from the Air Force Reserves in 2005 as a lieutenant colonel. She worked other jobs, which she says are too numerous to list, but one was as a corrections nurse. Now she is adjusting to retirement in a big farmhouse in Beloit, OH. She has three children and three grandchildren, all living in Los Angeles.

Patricia Coffin Marseglia spent a few years immediately after graduating from JHH in public health nursing, took a break to have her family, and spent the next 28 years doing school nursing (which she loved). Pat is currently working part time as a nurse for Sesame Place, a children’s theme park in Langhorne, PA, where she lives. She cannot imagine ever totally retiring.

Anne Dieterle McGee lives with her husband, Richard, in Edmonds, WA. They have four children, six grandchildren, and a slew of grand dogs, with most living on the West Coast. After school, Anne worked in a number of hospitals, including JHH and NIH. In 1975, they settled in Seattle; she became very involved with volunteer and charity work, along with raising her family. Today, she and her husband enjoy traveling and boating; and Anne has “rediscovered” gardening
and biking.

Judith Day McLeod, after earning a BSN, PNP certification, and MSN, concluded her education with a DNP from Johns Hopkins in 2012 while Martha Hill was dean. She is currently working as a nursing education consultant for the California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians after working as a staff nurse in L&D, as a PNP, and as an administrator of several nursing programs. She and her husband, John, live in Mission Viejo, CA. They have two children and two grandchildren.

Robyn (Roberta) Hague Moriarity-Kruppa and her husband have retired to rural Idaho, where they have a small farm and care for a menagerie of animals. Robyn has two adult children and four grandchildren. She continued her education at the University of Utah, receiving both a BSN and MSN, as well as a certificate in web design. She spent 28 years combined in the Air Force and Navy (active duty and reserve) retiring from the Navy as a captain. In civilian life, she transitioned to hospital administration at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center. She currently enjoys fiber art and caring for her farm and animal companions.

Laurie Payne Oehler worked in a variety of locations after graduation, including Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Michigan. She feels we left Hopkins with confidence that we could do nursing and do it well. She now resides in Willis, VA with her two dogs, a collie and a golden retriever, and enjoys local music and keeping busy with quilting and pets. She has one son, Paul.

Sally Bowers Orr worked in critical care units, in palliative care, and as a research assistant in the cardiovascular program at the University of Toronto. Sally moved to Toronto after several years at Hopkins. Her family includes her husband, Jim, three children, three grandchildren, and the family dog. She enjoys reading, bridge, skiing, tennis, golf, travel, and volunteering.

Kittrin Lappin Prasil and her husband, Ed, have been married for 38 years; they have two sons and three grandchildren ages 9 to 18. The family also includes a 36-year-old horse! Following graduation, Kit’s first job was with the Baltimore City Health Department. She also worked as a dialysis nurse, correctional nurse, and the last 23 years for the state health department in Texas. She retired as a tuberculosis nurse case manager. Now she enjoys time with her grandchildren, gardening, sewing, and quilting. She made hundreds of face masks for family and friends.

Cecelia Lorraine Schieve lives in Belmont, MA. After JHH, she received a BSN from Boston University and an MSN from Boston College, as well as an MS from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1998. During her career, she worked at a variety of places including Peter Brent Brigham Hospital, Fenway Community Health, Neponset Health Center, and Planned Parenthood. She just retired from Massachusetts General Hospital, but plans to continue tutoring children. She enjoys volunteering at the Massachusetts State Senate and Zoo New England.

Janet Snelson Schlicht and her husband are retired, living in Boise, ID. She has two children and two grandchildren. Jan spent 38 years in various nursing positions at a Boise hospital, concluding with staff education and development for the pediatric oncology unit. Jan has numerous interests in retirement: travel, reading, cross-country skiing, hiking, and biking. She takes a variety of classes, including writing (with several publications), watercolor, and foreign languages. She has been volunteering with Get Out the Vote efforts!

Anita Joseph Schmitt followed life in Hampton House by earning her juris doctor from Temple University and pursued a career path as an attorney, working for a large Fortune 100 company. She designed and implemented a global ethics and compliance program for 12,000 employees in 100 countries. She is volunteering with the Democratic Committee working for social justice. She and her husband, Ed, have been married for 48 years living in Phoenixville, PA. They have three daughters and four granddaughters.

Susan Ireland Shellito lives in New Orleans with her husband, Judd; they have two daughters. Sue began to have doubts about nursing as a career in her first year but decided to stay. She found her path after graduation in art, completing a bachelor of fine arts at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts as well as graduate work at the University of New Mexico. She continues to make art in various forms, teaching art in schools, and gaining gallery representation and museum inclusion. In addition to painting and printmaking, she has done work in concrete and ceramic sculpture. Currently she is painting in enamels—combining figures, words, and geometric designs in her pieces.

Kay Smith Sims lives in Ellendale, TN and is currently teaching in the BSN program at the University of Memphis, where she has been teaching for the past 15 years. She earned a BSN (Union University) and an MSN (University of Tennessee). During her career, she has worked in a variety of critical care positions including as a CNS and staff educator. Her adult daughter is a middle-school band director; Kay tries to attend all concerts and competitions and has even made flags and uniforms for the color guard.

Lynette Centofanti Sisson lives in Matthews, NC with her husband, Tim. She has a daughter and a son and three grandchildren, ages 14-18. She earned her BSN and worked at Johns Hopkins Hospital, the University of Michigan Hospital, and William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI. She took medical retirement in 1994 and was elected to the Board of Education in Royal Oak, where she served until 2002. She is currently an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church and volunteers with the local women’s shelter, an immigrant center, and youth groups. In addition to travel, she enjoys reading and knitting, and attends a church conference in the North Carolina mountains each year.

Loretta (Lori) Knaub Snyder and her husband, Will, live in Greenbelt, MD. They have three adult children and two grandchildren with another on the way. Lori has worked across disciplines including med-surg, orthopedics, oncology, home health, and school nursing in a variety of settings in California, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. She earned a BSN from American University and now enjoys gardening, landscaping, visiting the family farm in Pennsylvania, and time with family and friends. A two-year-old grandchild lives just minutes away.

Mary Ann (“Bicki”) Bickerton Thompson lives in Louisville, KY with her husband, Mil. After JHH, she continued her education, culminating with a certificate as an adult/geriatric nurse practitioner from the University of Colorado and a DrPH from the School of Public Health at Columbia University. Bicki worked in a variety of public health positions and has taught undergraduate and graduate nursing courses. Since retirement, she volunteers at a golden retriever rescue kennel (and has a rescue dog for her own companion at home), loves her Beatles fan clubs in Louisville and England, and enjoys researching nursing history in Kentucky.

Sandra Montague Winfield worked in the Hopkins Peds ICU for several years before moving to Texas; she lives in Granbury, TX. After several positions in cardiovascular nursing and becoming a nurse paramedic, she turned her attention to EMS; she is the EMS chief for her local 911 response area, running two basic to MICU-level ambulances, a service which she developed. She completed her BS in health care administration at Texas A&M. Sandra enjoys flying her two-seater plane, traveling, and sewing on her antique Singer sewing machines.

Johns Hopkins In Memoriam